DESCRIPTION (Adapted from applicant's description): The Santa Cruz Conference on Developmental Biology, organized every two years starting in 1992, has become a key meeting that brings together developmental biologists working in different fields and organisms. This conference covers all the key elements of development, from the establishment and patterning of body axes to the development of complex organs. The chosen speakers are among the most active in the field who should generate useful discussion by integrating their work and ideas with those in other fields. The format consists of short (20 minute) talks followed by an extended discussion of ten minutes or more. The meeting roster contains a balanced mixture of promising young scientists near the beginning of their careers and established, senior scientists. Approximately one third of the speakers are women.